Healthcare Technology Featured Article

Appian Medical has been making a name for itself the last few months, and now the company is looking to launch what it sees as a rather ground breaking mobile application. The company recently announced it raised more than $580,000 in seed money to put together a mobile health sleep apnea diagnostic app.

The tech for this particular application has been developed by Dr. Udantha Abeyratne. According to those who have worked on the app, this solution will work using neural network algorithms to detect the presence of OSA. The algorithms will operate in much the same way as artificial intelligence to analyze the sound characteristics associated with snoring and airway collapse. In a number of studies, this kind of program has been able to discern the difference between snoring and OSA at a rather impressive rate.

OSA is a sleep disorder that is reported to affect more than 100 million people across the globe. The market for OSA diagnostics is said to be about $6 billion annually. This is why Appian is looking to get into the market. If OSA goes untreated, it can actually cause some illnesses that are quite a bit more serious, including high blood pressure and diabetes. Despite the dangers of this particular affliction, more than 85 percent are estimated to go undiagnosed. That is the other reason Appian is looking to get into the market.

“There is an urgent need for a low-cost, accurate and easy-to-use method for identifying people who need treatment,” said Michael J. Thomas, founder and chief executive officer of Appian Medical in a recent statement. “Once commercially developed, this software can be accessible to tens of millions of people through a smartphone app or embedded in wearable sensors and fitness monitors.”

Thomas added that Appian is planning to partner with device companies and disease management firms in order to solve the need to deal better with OSA.